Ink
by Bailadora
Summary: Ron's trying to finish up his homework and Fred and George are having a great time 'helping'.


**Ink**

"Ron, why do you always do that kind of thing?" George questioned his younger brother.

"What kind of thing?" Ron shot back. Her threw his arms up in the air, exasperated.

"_That_ kind of thing." Fred pointed to Ron's parchment where his whole bottle of ink had spilled when he had thrown his hands up. The essay, which was nearly finished, was now soaked in the black ink.

"You guys!" Ron yelled. "That took me forever!"

"We know," the twins replied in unison.

It was very early on a Monday morning. Ron, Fred, George, Harry, and Hermione were sitting in the empty Common Room. The ruined essay that Ron had been working on for the past seven hours was for Snape's Potion lesson, which the sixth years had first period. Harry and Hermione had already finished the essay, a four-foot paper on the properties of moonstone in reference to the lunar cycle, and they were enjoying watching Ron scramble to finish. Or rather, Harry, Fred, and George were, while Hermione tsked and refused to let Ron copy her own paper.

"How'd you know I was gonna knock it over?" Ron grumbled, gazing forlornly at his sodden paper.

"Because we're your brothers," answered George.

"And we're geniuses," Fred added.

Harry smirked and Hermione shook her head, but she pulled Ron's paper across the book covered table, removed her wand from her robes, and began to siphon the ink off, a little at a time as to not remove the words Ron had recently scribbled down.

"What?" Fred protested. "You don't think we're geniuses?"

"Yeah! When have _we_ ever been in this situation? Have you ever seen _us_ rushing to get our homework finished?" asked George.

"Well, no," Hermione pointed out. "But that's because you never actually _do _your homework. It's a wonder you're still in school." Realizing what she had said, she slapped a hand over her mouth and continued to clean the paper.

"You sound like Mum," George complained.

"And you forget that we got six O.W.L.'s," Fred reminded her.

"Received. You _received _six O.W.L.'s. Combined. Honestly, I don't know how you two do it." She handed the essay back to Ron, which was not only free of the spilled ink, but of wrinkles, rips, and spelling mistakes as well.

Ron mumbled a thanks and once again began to scratch his quill against the parchment.

After a few uneventful minutes of watching Ron pour through Potion books, the twins started to plan their next attack on Snape. They were going to try out their new dungbombs on the first years. The gas the bombs released would put the young students into a stupor and cause them to ask pointless questions. The twins were convinced it was not only a good way to test out their new product, but a great way to annoy Snape as well.

"Are you sure that they actually work?" asked Hermione. "I mean, they're supposed put you in a stupor, or so you say. And you two _were_ the only ones to test them out… Who's to say that the way you act isn't the result of a dungbomb?"

"Har har," Fred sneered.

"Don't you have a book you have to read?" George prompted.

Hermione scowled at them.

"I wanna try!" said Harry. He thought for a second. "Why don't you go on upstairs and take care of that thing you call a cat."

Fred and George considered this for a moment.

"Are you implying that she's gonna grow old at a young age?" asked George.

"And single?" asked Fred.

Harry nodded.

"Then mate, you are coming along well. We really are good teachers, George. Maybe we should consider becoming professors."

"Nah."

The twins each gave Harry a high five.

Hermione shook her head. "I'm going up to bed."

"What? No!" exclaimed the twins in mock horror.

"Come on, Hermione. We were just messing with you," Harry reassured.

"I'll come back down once I have my pajamas on," she said over her shoulder as she began the ascent to the girls' dormitory.

When she emerged a few minutes later, she had taken out her braid, which left her hair in soft waves. She was wearing an old gray t-shirt and a pair of flannel pants, her favorite and most comfortable sleepwear.

The twins their heads together, most likely devising yet another horrendous plan. When they heard her, they sat up straight, their eyes wide.

"Wow, Hermione. Nice negligee," Fred complemented with an evil sparkle in his eyes.

"And might I add– great legs," said George.

"What?" Ron exclaimed and he whipped around to find Hermione in her shirt and pants, rolling her eyes. The twins were trying very hard to hold back their peals of laughter, but it broke loose when Ron turned back to the table to find that he had knocked over his ink bottle. Again.

With the twins still doubled over with laughter and Harry beginning to join in as well, Hermione sat down beside Ron, pulled over his essay, and began to fix it. And when it was clean, she ended the late night as usual, by finishing Ron's paper for him, giving Fred and George one more thing to torment him about later.

5


End file.
